A year as a Bon Secours Volunteer includes living in an intentional community, making a conscious effort to be present to community members and their needs. Communal living provides our Volunteers a means to support each other in a new environment, and during challenging experiences of service. As a community, our Volunteers challenge each other to grow spiritually, share in prayer several days a week and help each other with living out the pillars of our program. Cultivating Community is a conscience decision, done through community nights, community prayer, shared meals and other events. Year after year Bon Secours Volunteers point to Community Dinners as one of the most influential parts of cultivating community. Sharing a meal among Community Members is where our Volunteers unfold their service day; they discuss how they were moved that day, touched by a patient or how they lent a helping hand. The dinner table is a place of encouragement after a hard day, an open place for sharing what is on their mind and a place to simply process their day.

The picture above shows how our Volunteers spent time preparing a meal to celebrate Fat Tuesday!! This week, our Volunteers spent time as a community with ham baking, preparing sweets and other dishes to enjoy on Fat Tuesday!